A sucker for the fresh start of fall just like everyone else, I’ve been over here enjoying the rhythm of a new season as September has gotten underway. That’s the beautiful thing about seasons, isn’t it? They’re a chance to pause, reflect, collect ourselves, and move into something new – and they always seem to come at just the right time. For me, this year, that’s meant reacquainting myself with quiet workdays, incorporating Serious Working Out back into my weeks (aiming for two 30-minute strength training sessions, three rucks, and one intense Peloton ride per week), digging out the meals that work for practice nights, and cleaning out a few closets that have gotten overgrown. And a few more things, as you’ll see below…
Psst — want to come hang with me in person? I’m speaking at a Thrive Motherhood event on parenting in the digital age at the end of this month. I am already terrified, but would love to have the chance to meet you!
On my calendar: — Our anniversary trip to Asheville! Happy 12 years to us :) — Our annual camping trip with the Rays! We are headed to a lakeside campsite in Virginia and they are bringing their boat! — The first day of fall! We’ll bake apple cider scones for our family and the kids’ teachers, a tradition we started eight years ago.
What I’m loving right now: — Please go watch this short video from the beloved Tim Mackie about generosity, scarcity, and abundance. I’m a person who thinks quite a lot about generosity, but in less than three minutes Tim opened up a whole new way of thinking about God’s purposes for it – and how it affects our relationships with others – that I had never considered. — One of you sent me this piece from The Atlantic (gift link!) about what adults lost when kids stopped playing in the street, and it delighted me twice over: once that a reader thought to send it to me, and again because the ideas presented are so necessary and important. — Farmer’s market flowers. I splurged on the most beautiful bouquet when we visited last weekend (above!), and it’s been filling me with joy all week.
As a reminder, you can find allll the things I’ve loved over the last few years neatly organized right here!
What you’re loving right now:
This is where I highlight a few items here that have been popular in the last month with fellow readers, based on my analytics. Here’s hoping this will help you find something you’ll love!
What I read in August: — The Reason for God | I wanted to read this in honor of Tim Keller, and it didn’t disappoint. Just like C.S. Lewis, it’s clear, compelling, and winsome (and, indeed, he quotes Lewis extensively!). I did wonder what different emphases he’d make if he wrote it in 2024 – it was written in 2009, and it feels like the landscape of belief and unbelief has already changed so much since then! — The Mysterious Benedict Society | “Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?” So reads a peculiar newspaper ad, kicking off an epic secret mission undertaken by four extraordinary children. This was the one fat book June took to summer camp with her — she eagerly passed it on to me once she arrived back home, and I give it a glowing review, too. — The Boys in the Boat | Maybe my favorite read so far this year. It’s the true story of the rag tag rowing crew that wins gold in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, and though it’s non-fiction, it has the pace, sweep, drama, and characters to match any author’s imagination. I loved how Brown wove the rowers’ back stories, the current-day build to the Olympics, and the looming evil of early-stage Nazi Germany into one tight narrative. Highly, highly recommend. (I can’t wait to watch the movie, too, which is somehow supposed to be even better than the book.)
Revisiting my August goals: Finalize plans for our anniversary trip to Asheville Complete 40 hours of deep work (I recorded 15, though I think I actually did more. With the kids home pretty much every day, it was a disjointed month of work – but one I’m very grateful for.) Go through the kids’ clothes in advance of my two favorite consignment sales (I did go through the clothing but did not yet sort and tag!) Book our Acadia accommodations for next summer Reset June’s job chart for the new school year and make one for Shep Tackle the upstairs closet (I swapped in June’s closet instead!) Print photos for our new mantel frames Frame June’s camp photo Submit everyone’s passport applications (Progress! We had the kids’ photos taken and completed the applications. I’ve been monitoring our post office appointments but haven’t found one that works yet.)
As a reminder, many of these are drawn from my 2024 goals!
September goals: — Film Sheptember — Write my Thrive Motherhood presentation — Read chapters 13 and 14 of Outlive — Finish the 2015-2019 photo album (In groan-inducing news, I just looked back at last year’s September goals post and this exact item was on it – egads. So ready to move this across the finish line!) — Print photos for our new mantel frames — Sort and tag for the consignment sale — Tackle the upstairs closet — Complete our passport appointment — Complete 40 hours of deep work
In the spirit of photo album solidarity, is there a lingering item on your goal or task list that you’re going to commit to crossing off in September? I’d love to hear!
Today’s post is just the tiniest hack, but one that’s made a big difference over the years in making the most of my clothing budget. Here it is: at several points in the year, I’ll review my purchases and consider whether they were money well spent — or not.
To back up a bit: like everyone, I don’t want to waste money on clothing. I want to feel great about what I buy, whether it’s a steal-of-a-deal thrift find or a highly-anticipated splurge. I don’t want new purchases to sit in the closet, gathering dust, either because of the material, the style, how they fit, or how they sit on my body. I want to love what’s in my closet and feel good about any money I’ve spent!
But, also like everyone else, I don’t always get it right. Sometimes I think I’ll wear something, but it never ends up being what I reach for — maybe the style feels impractical, the material isn’t comfortable, or I just don’t have the right place to wear it. Occasionally, I’ll get suckered in by a sale price. Occasionally, I’ll make a bet on a final sale piece that doesn’t pay off.
For me, pausing every so often to review my purchases helps me make better decisions in the future. My process is simple: around the turn of fall (late enough in the year that earlier purchases have had a chance to settle!), I’ll open up our budget doc and click to the clothing budget tab. There, I can see every purchase I’ve made this year, laid out plainly in front of me.
(If you don’t keep as detailed a budget as ours, this might be a little trickier — but you could still do a similar audit in your closet! Physically pull out the pieces you purchased in the last few months for consideration.)
Then, I’ll go line by line and highlight the items in green that have felt like great buys: I wear them, I’ve washed them, I love them. I’m so happy I spent money on them.
This, of course, lays bare the items that don’t get highlighted. Though it can be a little painful, I take a look at each line: what about it is holding it back from getting highlighted? Is it the price I paid? Is it the item itself? What insight can I tuck away that might keep me from making the same mistake in the future?
And… that’s it! I’ll do the same thing at the end of the year before I switch to the next year’s budget doc, marking up any purchases made in the last quarter. It’s quick, I try not to beat myself up about misses, but it’s really helpful for me to stop and look for what’s working and what’s not so that I’m not just spending, spending, spending, adding, adding, adding.
To close, here are just a few examples in each category from this year so far:
In the green category:
— These raffia ballet flats. I spent about $150 on them but they’re comfortable, they filled a need in my closet, and I’ve worn them all spring and summer. (And hey, if you like them, you can get them for wayyyyyy less than I paid – ouch, ha!)
— This striped pullover. (They don’t have my exact colorway, but this is the style!) I bought this in person on a whim this spring, and I hesitated over the price (a little under $100) – I hadn’t walked into the shop expecting to buy something like this! But, in looking over the list, this has been my absolute favorite thing I’ve bought this year and I wear it as often as possible. Absolutely worth it.
— A white v-neck tee and a white gauze shirt from Quince. Total workhorses in my wardrobe. I wear both of them most weeks and will year round. And at just $60 for both, a great deal.
— A magenta rain jacket. The rain jacket I’d had for years went missing last year, so I’d been casually on the hunt for a new one. I spotted this one in-store when I was looking for something else and took a gamble on such a bold color. It’s been the nicest splash of color on dreary days and I’m happy I bought it every time I put it on, even though that’s not that often.
And now for a few misses:
— A floral cap-sleeve top I bought from Tuckernuck on final sale. I have worn it once or twice, but probably wouldn’t have bought it if I could have tried it on in person – it’s just a little too fussy for me. And at $75, this one hurts.
— A teal and white striped long-sleeve tee from Alice Walk, also on final sale. While it’s so soft and I like the colors, the round neck is a tad high in a way I don’t love, so I don’t reach for it as often as I thought I would.
— An olive green dress from J.Crew. I did try this one on in-person, and I do like wearing it. But again, it’s a little fussy in the way it lays, so it’s not particularly easy to throw on, so I haven’t worn it much. If I had paid less for it I probably wouldn’t mind so much, but the $100 price tag makes it feel like more of a regret.
There are a few more in each category, but that gives you a taste! And hopefully, you can see how it’s easier to spot patterns that I can use in the future once I sort things into categories.
Your turn! I’d love to hear what your favorite clothing purchase of 2024 has been so far. And, if you’re feeling brave, maybe a miss, too :)
Our kids don’t go back to school until the end of the month (September, actually, for Shep), so even as I’m looking ahead to back-to-school rhythms and routines, we’re still very much in the thick of summer over here. Doctor’s appointments and after-dinner pool visits, reseting chore charts and staying up late to watch the Olympics, shopping for school supplies and all-you-can-eat popsicles from the freezer — two seasons live side-by-side in August, and I’m savoring them both.
If you, too, are straddling seasons, I pulled up a few posts that might be of help for us both:
On my calendar: — An ice cream and game night with the ladies at our church — An afternoon shadowing our vet for June. Our vet invited her to tag along for a few hours at our cat’s last appointment, and she’s very excited to take her up on the offer! — Shep’s first day of kindergarten!!
What I’m loving right now: — This feels like it needs to be an annual summertime reminder: if you’re smaller-chested, I CANNOT recommend these enough. I had seen them recommended for years but never took the plunge because they seemed vaguely complicated, but nothing could be farther from the truth. They’ve made wearing sleeveless and skinny-strap dresses an absolute breeze and are FAR better than a strapless bra, IMHO! Go for it!! — This folding chair was one of John’s birthday gifts. It is FAR smaller than the folding camping chairs we’re used to taking to soccer games — the carry bag is only about a foot long — and it’s a little more inclined than them, too. But a great, lightweight option! — This is admittedly early, but I just bought these sweet bunny bookends for Annie for Christmas. She’s in the enviable/unfortunate third-child position of having everything she needs and parents who are trying to avoid toy clutter, which makes gift giving challenging. She loves bunnies, though, and I think she’ll get a kick out of having this little pair for her room!
As a reminder, you can find allll the things I’ve loved over the last few years neatly organized right here!
What you’re loving right now:
This is where I highlight a few items here that have been popular in the last month with fellow readers, based on my analytics. Here’s hoping this will help you find something you’ll love!
— The bracelet bead kit ($8!!) we used at the kindergarten breakfast and for slow afternoons — The card game we play obsessively with our siblings and in-laws — The cutest paper cups for back to school dinners — The Shibumi shade, an NC beach staple that’s SO easy to tote and set up — The wooden card holder that makes games so much easier with little ones
What I read in July: — Killers of a Certain Age | Even though it was on my reading list for the year, this was a DNF for me. I didn’t love the characters or the humor after a few chapters, and I’ve learned that means it’s time to move on to the next book on my stack. — The Vanderbeekers Ever After | The seventh and final installment of this middle grade series that has my heart! I laughed, I cried, I’m even more firmly convinced that everyone should read it. — Die With Zero | I’m teetering on the edge of writing a post about this one! Lots of thoughts! In short: this book is written for a niche (wealthy) audience. I generally agree with the thrust of his argument, but felt like he was oversimplifying some points — and also not addressing some obvious objections I had) — and yet still ended up with a book that could easily have been half as long.
Revisiting my July goals: Complete 40 hours of deep work (26, and I actually feel pretty good about this considering how broken up my last week of the month was with cousins here!) Edit June in June (Done! Volume 9 in the books!) Successfully send June to sleepaway camp (She loved it! More on TCF next week.) Book our Acadia accommodations for next summer (We made some progress here! We revisited and discussed options, and chose a week, but haven’t pulled the trigger yet.) Write one module of the TCF course (I mean, in retrospect, this was definitely not going to happen…) Read chapters 13 and 14 of Outlive (Traveling and other disruptions meant fewer evening walks and fewer chances to listen!) Finish the 2015-2019 photo album (Again, no.)
As a reminder, many of these are drawn from my 2024 goals!
August goals: — Finalize plans for our anniversary trip to Asheville — Complete 40 hours of deep work — Go through the kids’ clothes in advance of my two favorite consignment sales (+ sort and tag what I’m selling) — Book our Acadia accommodations for next summer — Reset June’s job chart for the new school year and make one for Shep (I think I’m almost ready to write a post about our system!) — Tackle the upstairs closet, one of the areas from last year that needs a refresh — Print photos for our new mantel frames (this is the kind of thing that could linger for months if I don’t put it in my PowerSheets) — Frame June’s camp photo — Submit everyone’s passport applications
Are your kids already back at school, or do you have a ways to go still? Or maybe you’re in year-round school, or just relishing a fresh start yourself! I’d love to hear.
A highlight of June: hosting a kindergarten breakfast in our neighborhood! This was a very, very low-key event – so low-key that it almost feels not worth detailing – but it’s been a sweet tradition in our neighborhood for many years and was a great comfort to me when June was a rising kindergartner. Today, I thought I could offer a few ideas (and lots of encouragement) if you, too, might like to host one!
The background on our neighborhood’s kindergarten breakfast:
Our neighborhood has been holding a breakfast for rising kindergarteners for at least as long as we’ve been here. (I remember thinking it sounded like the coziest tradition when we moved in ten years ago, sans children!)
The first time I actually attended was in 2021, when June was getting ready to make her elementary school debut. Though I had nothing to compare it to, it felt like a bit of a muted event – which makes sense, since things were still opening back up after the pandemic. There were just a handful of families in attendance, but what we lacked in quantity was made up for by quality – including a pair of powerhouse moms with four kids each, all of whom attended June’s future school. Getting to chat with them and ask them questions went a long way toward putting me at ease.
It was my desire to pass that sense of ease onto another new kindergarten parent that made me say “yes” when a request went out for a breakfast coordinator earlier this year. After confirming a date with the head of the social committee, I was given a budget of $200 and carte blanche to do pretty much whatever I wanted… my ideal scenario, ha!
Planning a kindergarten breakfast:
In our neighborhood, the kindergarten breakfast is open to all rising kindergartners, no matter what school they’re planning on attending. Since our public and private options include year-round schools, we hold the breakfast in June. (This feels early for those on traditional calendars, but the year-round school year starts in July!)
We got the word out in a few ways: we included the details in our neighborhood’s email newsletter. We made a Facebook event and posted in the neighborhood Facebook group. We set yard signs at a couple of key intersections, and put a signboard out by our neighborhood clubhouse a few days before the event. Thankfully, this was all taken care of by the social committee!
We ended up with about 15-20 kindergarteners (and their parents and siblings) in attendance, which I was pleasantly surprised by!
Kindergarten breakfast ideas:
We hosted our kindergarten breakfast at our neighborhood’s clubhouse, which has a wide, covered porch and is right next to the neighborhood playground. The event was from 9:30-11am on a Saturday.
We did, indeed, keep things very simple. I set out tablecloths I already owned and added this paper ruler runner on top. We arranged the food on one table: juice boxes, chicken minis and coffee from Chick-fil-a, donut holes from Dunkin, and mini muffins from Publix. Simple, simple, simple!
The main activity for the adults was simply mingling (we set out name tag stickers!), chatting, and swapping information :) We also had a little bracelet making station, inspired by June’s and my kindergarten tradition. At just $9 (!), this bead kit was perfect and we still had plenty left over after the party.
We also printed copies of Whitney’s summer book BINGO card as a sort of parting favor. Aside from making bracelets and scarfing snacks, the kids pretty much just ran in a pack from the playground to the porch and back – and seemed to have a great time.
And that was pretty much it! I loved getting to meet other kindergarten parents, loved seeing Shep meet some kindergarten buddies, but I think my favorite part (rather selfishly) might have been knowing that I played a small part in keeping a beloved neighborhood tradition alive and well. In a world where a lot of people don’t know their neighbors or the families at their kids’ schools, I’m grateful for the tight-knit communities we get to be a part of – and willing to do what I can to strengthen those bonds.
And you can do the same! If you’re reading this with a bit of sadness because you wish your neighborhood had an event like this, you can be the one to make it happen! You don’t have to wait for someone else to create the kind of place you want to live!!
That’s just what my friend Bethany did, and to round out this post, I thought I’d share a bit from her perspective. After hearing me yap about my plans, she decided to put together a little celebration for the kindergarteners on her street (including her son!). Here she is with the details:
One of my big, dreamy adult hopes is to be the home where the kids hang out. So it feels like we hit the jackpot when we landed on a street with more than 50 kids in middle school or younger. My oldest and four other pals on our street are starting kindergarten this summer (year-round school!). Always looking for an excuse to gather friends with all the comings and goings of summer schedules, we threw a kindergarten ice cream party to celebrate their transition.
Most of the kinders will attend the same school, so we scheduled the party in the afternoon, following Meet the Teacher at our school. The logistics were simple: I texted the other parents to share the invite, and each family graciously asked what they could bring to the party. Our menu included ice cream, lots of fun toppings, fruit, a veggie tray, and crunchy snacks. Our only non-food purchases were a set of very popular color-change spoons and school-themed napkins. (We also bought these adorable ice cream plates, but I don’t think a single one was used.)
Most of the kinders have older siblings who pass our house on the walk home from their bus stop. We planned for the kinders and parents to arrive a bit before the bus dropped for some quieter time with just the younger kids, and then the older siblings and their friends joined a bit later for an ice cream bash for about 40 people. (Reader, you should know that when I bought extra ice cream because I was worried the three Bluebells tubs would not be enough for 40 people, I was very wrong. If you’d like to have ice cream tonight, please come to my house; we still have plenty!)
I hope our time together excited the kindergartners and maybe helped to quell some fears or uncertainties about their start at a new school. And, if I’m being my big, dreamy self, I hope it’s another moment the kids look back on when they remember the big team they had cheering them on as they moved through childhood.
Isn’t that the best? If nothing else, I hope this post inspired you to make a little community magic right where you live :)
